The announcement came shortly after the World Health Organization reiterated that it does not believe there is enough evidence to support COVID-19 booster shots. A pharmacy technician loads a syringe with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, March 2, 2021, at a mass vaccination site at the Portland Expo in Portland, Maine. U.S. health officials on Wednesday said they plan to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots to Americans in the fall, prioritizing concerns about the highly contagious delta variant over pleas from the World Health Organization to withhold boosters until worldwide vaccine access increases.

"We are prepared to offer booster shots for all Americans beginning the week of September 20 and starting 8 months after an individual's second dose," health officials said in a joint statement. "At that time, the individuals who were fully vaccinated earliest in the vaccination rollout, including many health care providers, nursing home residents, and other seniors, will likely be eligible for a booster." The health officials said that they are "starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease."

"Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout," they said.a "For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability." "We're planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while we're leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket," Mike Ryan of WHO said during a press conference on Wednesday. "That's the reality. Science is not certain on this. There are clearly more data to collect."

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